Ran Clan
The Ran Clan The clan's name translates as "indigo". Their clan seal is described as Twin Dragon Lotus Spring. They are the most powerful clan in Saiunkoku, directly below that of the royal family. The specialty of the clan is producing salt from the water margins of Ran province. The Shiba are their main clan of retainers. Setsuna Ran The name of Ran Setsuna was given to the Ran Family´s Triplets as if they were one. They are Shuuei, Ryuuren and Jyuusan-hime´s older brothers and altogether are the Ran Clan´s head. However, each one of them has they´re own name Yuki (snow), Tsuki (moon) and Hana (flower). Due to the fact that in Saiunkoku multiple births are considered unlucky, it was a tradition to murder such kids. But their father allowed them to live with one condition: "No one must distinguish between any of you and you have to live publicly as one person" Past They were Shouka´s students and grew up near him, but they are not fond of Reishin. Fourteen years before the story begins, the triplets lived in the capital and worked as officers in the Imperial Court (under they´re collective identity of "Setsuna"). When the Emperor fell ill and the throne conflict became a chaos, the triplets returned to the Ran Province and never came back. When their little brother recieved the name of "Ryuuren" when he was 4 years old, the triplets were responsible for letting him grow without the influence of other clans. They assumed the leadership of the Ran Clan, causing a stir all over the province, because it was the first time that a group of people were named as the chief of one of the Eight Honorable Families. Setsuna sent Shuuei to the capital when he was very young, and later they allowed Ryuuren to wander all over the country under the condition of getting one of the three highest scores in the Imperial Examinations. Present Only the oldest, Yuki, is married and altough his wife can recognize him, she´s unable to recognize the others. At the end of the second season of the anime; Setsuna banishes Shuuei because of a bet, in which he could identify each one of them. Gyokuka She is officially the wife of Ran Setsuna (specifically Yuki). Gyokuka has a kind and happy personality, she loves external sceneries and she is an excellent chef. When she was younger, she originally went to the Ran residence to marry the previous chief of the clan, the triplets father. She was very excited to became their stepmother. Even when she´s not particularly beatiful, Shuuei was totally in love with her. But Gyokuka never found out his feelings. She fell in love with Yuki, the older of the triplets; although Yuki had a cold and cynical attitude. Her marriage with his brother devastated Shuuei, causing him to run away from the Ran Province. Shuuei Ran (藍 楸瑛) 20090706120334-1631794350.jpg|Armored Ran Shuuei Shuuei2-1.jpg|Shuuei in a normal outfit 016.png|Shuuei (right) with his little brother Ryuuren(left) Shuuei Ran.png|Ran Shuuei with the outfit he uses in Palace The fourth oldest of the five sons of the Ran clan, Shuuei Ran is the General of the Shaorin army. He has legendary fighting skills thanks to his training by the Shiba clan, retainers of the Ran clan who excel in swordsmanship; the only opponents who can beat him at full strength are Koku-Daishogun and Haku-Daishogun. He recognizes Seiran's past identity from his swordfighting techniques. The novels call him and Seiran the greatest military officials of Ryuuki's reign as Emperor. Near the beginning of Ryuuki's reign, Shuuei briefly worked as a civil official until being disappointed that the new Emperor wasn't interested in politics and kept disappearing. Switching from the civil service to the military, Shuuei joined the Left Uringun army and rose to the position of Shogun (general). Usually calm, Shuuei likes to tease others, and claims to be Kouyuu Li's best friend though Kouyuu keeps denying it. Shuuei enjoys provoking Kouyuu by mentioning the latter's woman-hating ideals and lack of direction. Unlike Kouyuu, Shuuei often mentions how nice it is to spend time with women; he was surrounded by a horde of women after winning the fighting tournament, and often flirts and sleeps around with the palace ladies. He does this in the hope of attracting the attention of Shusui, who has been irritated by his behavior into saying that he treats the Imperial Harem like the Red Light District (where Shuuei is a regular visitor to the number one courtesan at the number one brothel). When Shusui helped him once in the past, it was love at first sight for him, but sadly, Shusui does not even remember the meeting. Seiran calls him 'saifu #1' (wallet #1) since he pays for the ingredients every time he has dinner at Shuurei's house. Shuuei and Kouyuu met during the Imperial Exams, in which Shuuei took the second highest honor as Bōugen (the same title that his younger brother later earned). The two men become reacquainted after being assigned by his superior (Koku-Daishogun) as respectively the personal guard and advisor to Ryuuki-- who is nowhere to be found, leaving Shuuei and Kouyuu in the library for a month of boredom. In the novel and drama CD, Shuuei's brother(s) Setsuna Ran sent him to Kiyou as a child to assist one of the princes (later identified as Prince Seien). He encountered the young prince under attack in an alley and tried to help him, but Shuuei's swordfighting skills weren't strong enough to defeat the assassins, and Seien told him that he was weak and useless. Seien even defeated Shuei in a sword battle in front of Setsuna Ran and Emperor Senka. Humiliated, Shuuei retreated back to Ran province and trained hard with his childhood best friend Jin Shiba. However, by the time Shuuei returned to the capital, the prince who mocked him had been banished for treason; his elder brothers ordered him to track down Prince Seien's whereabouts, but he was unable to do so. Along with Kouyuu, Shuuei receives and accepts a flower (a purple iris which he later engraves on his sword) from Ryuuki, a symbol of steadfast trust that establishes the young emperor's reign with the support of the top two rising officials of the palace. Over time, Shuuei's loyalties become increasingly torn between the emperor and the Ran clan, causing him to return the iris sword to Ryuuki and retire to Ran province. After being banished by the Ran clan, he returns to Ryuuki, convinced that the Emperor accepts his responsibilities and wants Shuuei's support for his own merits, not just for his family connections. In the anime series, Shuuei is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa. Ryuuren (藍 龍蓮) He is eighteen years old when the story begins. Although the youngest of the five Ran brothers, he has been marked as the genius of their generation by the name/title "Ryuuren", which he received at age four, and is only bestowed by the clan on rare, worthy individuals. ran-ryuuren-105555.jpg|Ryuuren in his exotic outfit 145321_99368.jpg|Ran Ryuuren (Note his passion for strange things, in this image you can see the weeds on his hair) ranryuuren.jpg|Ryuuren in a normal appearance A lover of art and nature, Ryuuren is also highly skilled in martial arts. His genius is matched only by his eccentricity. He plays the yokobue flute in a cacophonic style that can alter people's mental health and cause birds to fall from the sky. (In the novels, Ryuuren is actually very good at playing other musical instruments, so it surprised his brothers that he chose to play yokobue instead.) He also favors strange, flashy clothing that may include vegetables and fruits as fashion accessories, and his nickname for Shuuei is "foolish elder brother #4". He earned the nickname ‘Ryuuteki tobaku-shi’ (龍笛賭博師/dragon flute gambling master) while wandering around the country and playing cards, which his family allowed on the condition that Ryuuren would take one of the top three places in the Official Exams. When he comes to the capital just before the exams, his dormitory becomes known as the "Cursed 13th Building" because instead of studying, Ryuuren prefers to play his flute, driving other examinees insane. Seven officials resign after having incomprehensible conversations with him. The only person who can cope with his behavior is Shuurei, whom he promptly dubs his "Soul Friend #1". Eigetsu becomes his "Soul Friend #2", and Yogetsu is eventually counted as "Soul Friend #2.5". Ryuuren takes the Official Exams with Shuurei and Eigetsu and passes with the second highest score, taking the "Bougen" spot, but then skips out on the Shinshi Ceremony that inducts the examinees as new officials. He claims that the wind called to him to start a new voyage, i.e. resume wandering because he has now fulfilled his promise to excel in the exams. When Ryuuren wanders back to the capital, Ryuuki gives him the important task of delivering the governor's seal to Shuurei and Eigetsu in Sa province. Shuurei tells Ryuuren to stay clear of their dangerous political situation, but Ryuuren says that the danger is why he wanted to stay involved, and that his "Soul Friends" are the only people who can take advantage of him. Ryuuren claims to have no interest in becoming an Imperial official or the head of the Ran clan. However, in season 2, Kurou Kou seriously weighs a proposal from the Ran clan to marry Ryuuren to Shuurei. In the anime series, he is voiced by Hidenobu Kiuchi. Jyūsan-hime (藍 十三姬) Jyūsan-hime is the half-sister of the five Ran brothers. She was raised by her mother's family, the Shiba clan, who trained her both as a fighter and as a princess. The literal meaning of her name is "Thirteenth Princess", although she also had the childhood nickname "Hotaru" (firefly). The Shiba clan leader originally loved Jyūsan-hime's mother, who was his cousin. He later had his cousin murdered. Jyūsan-hime witnessed her mother's murder when she was barely three years old. Shiba Jin came to her rescue and lost one eye in exchange. Later on, when the Shiba clan leader attempts to rape Jyūsan-hime, Jin commits one of the "10 Unforgiveable Crimes", murdering his own father. Jyūsan-hime runs to the Ran estate and begs to Setsuna to save Jin's life. In exchange, she must follow Setsuna's orders. Setsuna Ran sends Jyūsan-hime to the imperial capital as a potential bride for either Ryuuki or Seiran. Because she looks very similar to Shuurei, the two women exchange places to avert an assassination plot from a rogue member of the Shiba clan. After Shusui resigns from the palace, Jyūsan-hime succeeds her as chief lady-in-waiting and is likely to become Ryuuki's consort if Shuurei continues to reject his proposal of marriage. In the anime series she is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi. Shiba Jin (司馬迅) Also known as Shun (隼). He was a prisoner on death row for patricide and is Jyūsan-hime's ex-fiancee. Jin is one of the many assassins sent after her and Shuurei Kou after he was released from prison and being pardoned by the three oldest Ran brothers. He was a childhood friend of Shuuei Ran and Jyūsan-hime Ran (it is revealed he was the one who gave her the nickname "Hotaru"). He is from the Shiba clan, a subsidiary clan of the Ran clan. He met Jyūsan-hime when he was 11 years old, shortly after Jyūsan-hime's mother was murdered by his own father, he had been sent to the house to kill her but could not bring himself to do so. The 3 year old Jyūsan-hime sat by her mother's corpse and stared at Jin for three days and nights. He cut out his eye when Jyūsan-hime said he can come closer to her when he gives her his eyes. After the incident at the Ran province he roams around the country with Shusui. He is portrayed by Masaya Onosaka in the anime series.